Dogs and Cats and Ranma, OH MY!
by Aeoden
Summary: The princess of Biscotti found her kingdom in desperate staights from the wars and decides to summon a hero. When the ceremony was complete, she found a unexpected new champion. Too bad that champion has a certain traumatic fear.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the IPs involved in this work of FAN fiction.

AN: Well here it is, this is one of three stories I am putting up due to a tied vote (a blind one no less...still can't get over the three way tie on a 4 option poll...poor dragonhalf crossover never stood a chance.). I posted these all at the same time to give them all a fair chance. When I post the next chapter of Hyperdimension Ranma (which will be after I post the dragonhalf one-shot), I will decide the winner for what will be my secondary story for whenever I need a break from HDR or when I have writer's block. Don't worry, I will be doing all of these stories eventually. It may just be a while.

Now onto the notes for this story, I absolutely hated doing the research for this one. The dog days wiki was dog awful... I think I here a mob for that bad pun. Anyways, it was a pain since I had originally gone there for specifics like which translation is official and found the thing using both... Then there was the lack of details. If I am to do this, I am going to have to sit down and re-watch all three season with a notebook handy and make my own notes. Not looking forward to that, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I am not letting this stop me from writing this fun story.

* * *

In the world of Flognarde, it was a bright and sunny day that shined over the lands of Biscotti. This was the backdrop to the latest battle in a war perpetrated by the neighboring kingdom of Galette. They had been battling for months now, and today's battle threatened to take the heart of the Biscotti Republic, Filiano Castle. However, the princess of Biscotti had not given up hope. She had made a decision for the sake of her people's happiness. She would summon a hero capable of protecting their hearts and renewing hope. The boy she had chosen was truly someone who had shined her eyes. He had done so well in his home world and had cried such pure tears. She could not wait to see her champion. Even as she ascended the steps to the floating land masses that led to where the ritual would be completed, her tail was wagging in anticipation.

* * *

Shinku Izumi was looking forward to the holidays and was already leaving early from school in order to make it to the airport in time. He was merrily making his way through the halls of the third floor of the building with thoughts of intense training going through his young mind. He came back to his classroom where he collected a duffel bag with his belongings for the trip. He then opened a window and climbed out. He was using the small ledge for balance practice as he now made his way to the front entrance before jumping down to the second floor. Now that he was on top of the main entrance, he hefted his big and threw it up into the air to do his signature technique. After his belongings were airborne, he ran to jump off the building.

It was at this moment a strange dog with a highly decorative dagger burst onto the scene and plunged said dagger into the ground where the now airborne young athlete had no choice but to land. Immediately a glowing circle with many strange symbols and designs flared to life. He had no way of avoiding. He began to flail about desperately to avoid circle, but to no avail. The dog had set an unavoidable pitfall. It was at that moment that Shinku heard another voice screaming.

"Aaaaaah! Get outta the way!"

The last thing Shinku saw was a red and black blur.

* * *

Earlier that day all the way back in an often avoided, by the sane, district in Tokyo called Nerima, a young man was having a bad day. Ranma Saotome had just gotten back from the whole mess over in China. In fact, his pops had tried to force him to marry Akane just yesterday. Now here he was sitting at school and the only reason he wasn't falling asleep in exhaustion from the usual crap that was his life and from boredom was that he was too busy fuming. He had already gotten over Akane's part in the whole ordeal as she was trying to get the nannichuan water for him. He also had to admit that he had said those embarrassing words back in Jusendo. Truth be told, he did love Akane. The problem was he didn't know in what way. Thanks to his father and the whole mess with the fiancés, Ranma wasn't really sure about his own feelings even know. However, this was not what had the boy fuming. No, it was the fact that the cure was gone. No one had even been cured. Happosai had somehow managed to drink the whole thing before realizing it wasn't sake. He had been denied a cure time and again. Whether it be through the misdirection of the guide who instead of taking them to the proper spring had taken them to the nearby village. The village where another source of problems had sprouted that led to him and his pops fleeing China. Then there were the countless fake cures and temporary fixes. The wishes that still made Ranma cringe in memory. The flooding of Jusenkyo when he was right there. Then the wedding and Happosai had happened. Ranma was at the breaking point.

It was then that Ranma noticed that his teacher, Hinako, standing before him as an adult and a downed Kuno still carrying a real katana lying unconscious at the entrance to the classroom. She did not look pleased.

"Ranma, since you are awake for once, I would ask that you pay attention to my class or are you going to be a delinquent today?" She asked sternly while holding a coin. Ranma scratched the back of his head nervously as he realized just how lost in thought he had been. He soon recovered as she leered at him waiting for an answer and began to wave his arms in a warding gesture.

"uh, no need for that, I just had a lot on my mind," Ranma responded quickly. He may like a challenge, but he was not in the mood to try and deal with the ki vampire today. Hinako sighed at his antics.

"I see-" She began to lecture her student when a certain cry reached Ranma's ears.

"Sweeto!"

Ranma and the class looked out the windows of the classroom to see the old pervert up and about and stealing bloomers from the gym class again. Ranma didn't even think about what to do. He opened the window and jumped out aiming a drop kick at the old gnome. As per usual, the old goat easily dodged it at the last minute. Ranma quickly recovered to glare at the grandmaster standing casually as if there was not a problem in the world.

"What's the matter m'boy?" He said as he drew out his pipe and began smoke.

"You! Ya old creep!" Ranma yelled as he lunged forward at the centuries old pervert. All he could think about was how much he wanted to beat up the old man. It was about midway into his charge that Happosai smiled before finally making a counter attack. As it would turn out, he did know the hidden weapons technique as he pulled a bucket out of no where and rammed it over the incensed Ranma's head. It was a full bucket of water. Ranma took a moment to recover as she choked and sputtered.

"And you call yourself my student? Why you're even sloppier than usual today, _boyo_ ," the master remarked from close by. As it turned out, he was buried in her bosom. Ranma didn't say a word as she unleashed a powerful blow to the gnome's head and fired off a moko takabisha for good measure.

"Oh yeah ya old freak? What d'ya say about that!" she shrieked at the quickly recovering form of her opponent.

"I'd say you have a lot to learn as my student if that's all you can manage!" Happosai retorted with a leer," This is hardly even fun for me as you are now!"

"What? Am I some form of sick twisted entertainment to you now," Ranma huffed back as she charged forth to deliver a punch the freak's head," Is that why you drank my cure!?"

"Oh, so that's what's eaten at ya, eh?" The pervert commented while dodging each of Ranma's attacks," I have my reasons, but I'm not sure you're ready to know just yet," he finished with a lecherous grin.

"That's a load and you know it ya damn freak!" Ranma screamed as she continued throwing punches and kicks in a futile effort to hit her target. Ranma may have been powerful and possibly could have won this fight, but that possibility had been lost the moment she let her anger control her," All you care about is makin' sure ya have your sick jollies!"

"While it is fun to toy with you- Oh, nice touch with the anger!" Happosai interrupted himself as he easily dodged an anger fueled ki blast," Ahem, where was I?" he wondered aloud as he continued to make a fool out of his student before jumping atop her head. Then his face lit up as he tapped his fist into an open palm," Oh that's right! You're a pretty dense student, ya know? Then again everyone is considering no one's figured it out yet!"

Happosai leapt clear of Ranma's head and turned to face her. His student didn't make a move as if considering his words after a moment she demanded," What're ya talkin' about?"

"Well, you've seen proof already of a simple fact and completely ignored it," Happosai answered offhandedly as he took a deep draw from his pipe before breathing it out," You remember that friend of yours that likes to visit me?"

"No one likes to visit you," Ranma said with a glare as she got ready to fight again.

"You hurt me! I talk of the Taro boy," Happosai answered in mock disdain.

"What does that pantyhose freak have to do with me!?" Ranma demanded angrily. Happosai sighed.

"You can be quite dense. Then again you are your father's son," Ranma growled at this as Happosai took another puff from his pipe," That boy took another a dip in another spring, remember?" At Ranma's hostile gaze, he sighed and went on," Curses don't cancel each other out, they mix," Happosai explained," There's no such thing as a cure for Jusenkyo."

This last statement was the last straw for Ranma. She had tried so desperately for all this time and suffered so much for something that did not exist!? She refused to believe this as her growing rage ignited into a fiery aura about her and she charged the old freak once more. Happosai shook his head in disappointment.

"Looks like you need some time to cool your head!" Happosai said as he used his pipe to send Ranma skyward," Here's a going away gift from me! Happo Daikarin!" He yelled out as he threw a large number of bombs at his airborne apprentice. The resulting blast sent Ranma hurdling high into the sky. She was unconscious for a bit before finally recovering to realize she was still in the sky and head towards the ground. As it turned out, she was on a direct collision course with some kid. She screamed pointlessly for the boy to move, knowing full well that was possible. Then they collided.

* * *

The hooded figure of the princess of Biscotti continued up the steps. Then she saw the descending light in the sky that foretold the arrival of her here. She paused to release an excited gasp at the pink light. This would be the moment she would finally get to meet the boy. She hurried up the steps to the altar as the hero's light crashed into it. She drew back the hood of her robe as she crested the top of the steps and came into view. Let gasped in glee at the sight of the light that had now taken on the form of a blossoming rose. As it blossomed, her breath caught. The figure who looked about in confusion was not the hero she had sought. It was a strange girl wearing Eastern silk clothes in red and black. She looked to be about her height but with a much more well developed figure. Her hair was a bright and fiery red tied back into a pigtail. She looked on in confusion. There had to have been some kind of mistake. The girl continued to look about in confusion before taking notive of the princess. They stared at each other silently trying to figure out what was going on when Tatsumaki finally landed soon after. Millhore Filiano Biscotti looked to the dog in confusion. Tatsumaki sat there and bowed his head in greeting before hunching his shoulders and shaking his head. He clearly had no idea what happened either.

* * *

Falling, Ranma knew this feeling quite well. She was somehow still falling and back up high in the sky. The purple sky with floating islands and ridiculous fantasy landscape that spread out as far as the eye could see. If not for the fact that there was a clear like of fire and brimstone, Ranma would have thought she had fallen into hell. Since the sight was a very beautiful one, he settled on the idea she must have somehow died instantly on impact and was now in heaven. It was a bit strange considering she had survived such things as terminal velocity before but there was no denying the evidence all around her. Though this would be a happy discovery after one finally died, Ranma couldn't help but be annoyed that she had died a girl and that apparently meant she would spend the rest of eternity as one. She hated her luck sometimes. She didn't even bother bracing for impact as she came crashing down upon some strange structure. She watched as weird little spirits scattered from the landing point as she approached. Suddenly everything stopped and she found herself in a sitting position on the ground unharmed while the light that had surrounded her before became solid before opening up. Once it opened, she took a look around her and admired just how much energy filled her surroundings. It felt different than the natural energies of the world back home. On top of that, she looked around to take in her surroundings up close. Finally, she noticed a girl in a light pink robe staring her. Then something caught her attention. The girl had dog ears. Ranma was stunned by this as she tried to figure out what was going on. Heaven was supposed to have angels. She had never heard of an afterlife that had dog people running around. She could not help but wonder what new form of madness she had quite landed in this time. Then she noticed that a dog had landed near her. Wait, was this some kind of divine joke and she had ended up in dog heaven!? Ranma started fuming at all the times she had been called a dog…

* * *

The mysterious girl seemed to be looking at Tatsumaki now and she seemed to be unhappy to see him. Millhi decided to try and settle the matter and finally coughed into her hand to politely collect the other girl's attention," Hello there, I am Millhore Filiano Biscotti. The princess and a representative of the Biscotti Replublic. Are you the hero that answered my summons?"

She had been expecting a number of answers. What she got was not one of them. The girl looked at her with widening eyes before speaking," Wait, I'm not dead and this isn't dog heaven!?"

Millhi fell silent at this as she stared at the mysterious girl in shock. The girl had thought she had died. Why did she think she was dead? These thoughts boiled in her mind, but one question simply popped out without meaning to," Why would you think you'd go to dog heaven after dying?"

"Well. You have dog ears and that dog did just show up after me, figured all those times I'd been referred to badly as such finally caught up to me," The girl answered sheepishly," Anyways, I'm Ranma Saotome, former heir of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. So, what part of heaven am I in?"

The princess gaped at this for a moment before collecting herself," Umm, you're not dead."

"Wait, I'm not!? Then what's with all of this beautiful craziness around us!?" Ranma asked as she spread her arms to gesture at the scenery.

"This is another worl, The world of Flognarde and you are currently in the country of Biscotti. I, well, sent Tatsumaki to summon a hero to help us with the current war," the princess explained as she gestured to the dog that was now running up to her," I had originally sought another but somehow you answered the call instead."

"What're ya talkin' about? I didn't answer nothin'! One moment that old gnome sent me flying and the next thing I know I'm on a collision course with some guy and here I am! Now you're telling me because of whatever you did I have to fight in a war!?" The girl demanded incredulously," Sorry, ain't happenin'! I am Ranma Saotome and I don't answer to anyone. Not only that, I'm not gonna go around killin' people for ya!"

"Um, well, That is… I think we're having a misunderstanding?" Millhi closed her eyes and cringed as she itched her cheek with a single gloved finger," I think it would be best if you followed me while I explain."

Ranma grumbled something under her breath as she accepted the offer and followed the girl. The girl had been very honest to her and gave off an aura of naïveté and innocence. In truth, Ranma very much doubted she had any ill intent for anyone. It was just that she was still angry about the mess from before and confused about her situation. The very thought of someone asking her to fight in a war had simply set her off. However, the strange dog princess had been patient and offered to explain some misunderstanding. Ranma had no reason to object seeing as sitting arguing was going to get her no where. As they made their way down the floating steps, the princess began to explain.

"Wars here are government funded events where those involved get to fight to their hearts content. No one ever dies in these. This is a method of public entertainment that keeps everyone happy and allows us to keep our forces well trained in combat. It also is how we settle disputes and it is very charitable as it allows us to gain money for the use of making things like hospitals and orphanages. It's a very good business around here," she explained it in more detail as they descended the steps. As it turned out, the deadly form of warfare was a thing of the past in this world due to the weird energy that protected life. Ranma actually like the thought of this and was already agreeing to do the whole hero thing as it was a good way to blow off some steam. However, as they came to the end of the steps, Ranma had one last question.

"So if it's all harmless, why ya need to summon a hero for?" She asked curiously.

"Well, the fact is that the Galette has become more aggressive of late and has been attacking us for the last few months. We haven't won at all. It's starting to depress my people," She explained while looking a little sad. There was something else she had not mentioned and Ranma had the distinct feeling she was really hoping for the hero she had chosen," Anyways, we don't have much time, This is my cercle, Harlan, please join me."

They quickly got onto the giant, white, ostrich like bird that looked like it came out of a popular video game that Hiroshi played back in Ranma's world. Ranma made sure to hold onto the princess's waist as the bird went into motion and the strange energy of the land flared around the princess and went into the bird. The bird then stretched out its wings and took flight. It was an interesting experience until Ranma saw the battlefield.

Everything was going so well for now. Millhi still wished that her chosen hero had been the one to show up, but at least this one had a good heart if a little rough and unrefined. Still, she really wished she knew why her close friend, Leo, had become like this. They used to be so close and now she distanced herself from her and declared war after war on Biscotti. Now that they were in the air, the battlefield came into view. It was then that she noticed her hero's hold on her change to a much more desperate one," I'm sorry, are you afraid of heights?"

"Of course not! The Saotome school specializes in this stuff! I-I'm n-not afraid of a-anything!" Ranma stuttered out defiantly. However, the princess saw the terrified look that filled the girl's face as she looked below. She had to giggle at the cute sight of her trying to act brave for her," H-hey, w-what's so funny!?"

"I'm sorry, we'll be landing soon, I should have warned you we were going to fly, please forgive me," She answered as they came in for a landing at the castle. Once they were landed, Ranma's grip had loosened.

"Princess!?" demanded Rizel, the head of the maid squad, in indignation. It was then that both Ranma and Millhi realized the shift in Ranma's hold from earlier. Ranma jumped off of Harlan and backed away in fear from the slowly approaching maid as Millhi sat there blushing.

"It was an accident, I didn't mean nothing by it, honest!" Ranma pleaded.

"Oh, so you did mean something," Rizel said in a darkening tone. It was then that Ranma realized that he had put his foot in her mouth with a double negative.

"No, I meant nothing! I-I was," Ranma looked away in shame. She was not about to admit to anyone she had been terrified by the sight of the hell spawn that fought outside.

"You what?" The maid demanded with a smile that promised much pain to come if she didn't get an answer.

"She's afraid of heights, I didn't warn her about the flight and she became terrified after we took off," the princess explained once she had gotten over her initial embarrassment of being found in such a situation. The maid nodded to her and returned back to her usual demeanor.

"Very well, I'm sorry for misunderstanding you hero, but I must ask that you show proper decorum to the princess at all times," admonished the hero.

"I'm not afraid of height!" Ranma complained desperately. The head maid simply smiled at this proclamation.

"Everyone has fears dear. You don't have to hide them, there's nothing shameful about it," She consoled her nations new hero," Well, time is of the essence! It looks like we'll have to refit the armor for you-"

"I don't need armor! It would only get in the way of my fighting style," Ranma declared already giving up trying to explain she was not afraid of heights. After all, she would have to explain that she was afraid of c-cats and that would be even worse as everyone laughs at her for it when they find out.

"Oh, then I take well need something very light the like what the use in the covert squad. That might be a problem," The maid took this in as they had nothing on hand that would fit right and lacked the time to make something properly heroic as they needed the hero now.

"Look, I don't need armor. I'll be fine with what I got!" Ranma declared stubbornly. The maid shook her head at this.

"You can not be seriously, that would go against decorum. A hero must have a powerful and awe inspiring appearance to move the hearts of the people," the maid explained," Also, without protection, you'll go down easily"

The idea that she would be so easily defeated struck Ranma's nerve," Look lady, I've had to fight all my life and I have fought in much less than this! I can handle anything you got out there!"

The maid blushed. She didn't know if it was at anger from the disrespect the girl had shown or the fact that this girl was so immodest. It was then that she had an idea that would solve the problem," Here, come with me, I believe I might have something that will work after all."

* * *

Shortly after, Ranma found herself standing on a platform waiting for herself to be introduced so she could start beating people up and finally relieve her stress. She had completely forgotten about why she was afraid earlier after that maid struck her nerve. They had been a little disgusted by her undergarments seeing as she lacked a bra and wore boxers. They had forcibly undressed and redressed her against her will all the while ignoring her protests. It had been a rather humiliating experience. She eventually got dressed and had the rules explained to her.

Now here she was, wearing a strange get up that was supposed to raise everyone's morale. She had a short sleeved black undershirt that clung to her body over a newly fitted bra and a black miniskirt. She was wearing panties but convinced them to let her wear spats as well since she needed to be able to kick. Over the black shirt she wore a male kimono like vest that was tied off just under her breasts by a long, black sash that would flutter in the wind. Her midriff was completely exposed and there was a light green ribbon that held up the skirt and became a bow in the back. Finally, she was wearing a long red scarf around her neck and her usual shoes. She also wore a weird ring on her right hand. They told her it was some kind of sword that would take the form of whatever weapon she desired. She told them she didn't need a weapon, but they insisted that as a here she needed to wear it.

She was scowling as she heard the princess giving the announcement. It finally was time for her to make her big debut. The fireworks were going off and the platform began to rise. Ranma was just too impatient to wait any longer and simply jump forth and through the display without being hit. She had been told to make an interesting entrance and she had a plan. As she sailed through the air at an incredible height from a single bound she gathered ki into her fists for a double moko takabisha that fired at the ground just before she would have landed. It created an explosion and threw up a lot of dust and dirt. As it cleared the cameras picked her up an few feet from the small crater she had made standing in a confident pose with her signature smirk.

"Hm, I'm Ranma Saotome, and I'm the best at what I do!" She declared with absolute confidence.

* * *

Millhi stared in shock at the live feed. That was a good entrance, but that was not what got her attention.

"I must say, it was good of you to teach her, we completely forgot about teaching her how to use the seals," Rizel noted in appreciation. The princess let loose a nervous laugh at that.

"I forgot too…" She admitted much to the shock of the others present. She could not believe her luck. True there had been some trouble, but Ranma somehow seemed to be very skilled. She could tell just from the way Ranma had already figured out how to use the power of the land to increase her physical abilities and unleash seal canons. Though, it was a bit strange that her seal did not appear for the second part. The princess had high hopes now as she watched her hero dash forward to meet the enemy. Then Ranma met them…

* * *

Ranma couldn't help shake the feeling that she was forgetting something. _Oh well, it can_ _'_ _t be that important if I forgot!_ It was as she closed in with the enemy that she realized her mistake. She was charging in at full speed toward a bunch of demons. Ranma began to scream, but she didn't stop running. She ran right past them in utter terror. Sadly, they weren't going to leave well enough alone and wanted to have a shot at the hero. As she ran about trying to flee them, more of the demons showed up wanting to take her down.

* * *

Lorrain Matinozzi had paused along with everyone else on the battlefield to watch the announcement of the arrival of the hero. He smiled at the display the girl made in her entry. He also took note of how she had done it. He was quite intrigued by the fact the girl pulled that off without using a seal. He had high hopes now for the outcome of this battle now as the girl was clearly a competent fighter. Though, he felt she might be a tad bit overconfident with that declaration. Then he turned back to face the forces of Galette as it was his duty to not let anyone slip past this point. Shortly after this, he heard a screaming and turned as everyone in the general area was caught off guard by the hero fleeing from volunteers. Soon after, others started joining in the chase as they wanted to be the one known for taking out a hero. Lorrain was completely ignored. His feelings were hurt greatly by the sight of this. How could any hero be reduced to this? Why would the princess choose someone like her? Then suddenly the chase stopped as Lorrain was about to intervene in anger. Several of the volunteers suddenly exploded and took on the ball like animal form the people of Flognarde take when defeated.

"Mreow!" The hero of Biscotti cried before hissing while on all fours and acting very much like a cat. _What is she doing!?_ Lorrain thought before the strange hero began chasing and utterly defeating every member of the Galette forces she came across. She was turning the tide of battle as they had hoped, but was this really what the princess had wanted?

* * *

Leonmitchelli Galette des Rois, the ruler of Galette, sat in her camp. She was considering whether or not to teach the reckless hero a lesson after that declaration of being the best. She did find her interesting thanks to her display, but she had yet to see anything that supported her statement of being the best. It was while she was considering this that someone came to report.

"Your majesty, I bring word from the front, the new hero has gone insane and is literally shredding our forces!" The messenger reported. Leo smiled as she stood up from her seat and mounted her cercle, Daumas. _This should prove interesting!_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: *rips disclaimer off the page* Here boy! Fetch!

AN: Sorry the delays... Anyways, this chapter didn't exactly shape up as well as I had hoped. Not saying it is bad so much as the fact I am finding I might have some trouble writing this one up ahead. Especially since I have totally derailed and trashed the cannon for this series beyond season 1. So yeah, hopefully I can think up of something for that since I like a number of the later characters, but it will be hard considering what I have in mind... ARGH!

Anyways, have fun reading!

* * *

Silence had fallen over the commentators' box as the three within stared on in disbelief. Charley was the first out of them to break it.

"Ahem, well- uh, I have no idea what's going on out there, what is this mysterious hero doing!?" The professional commentator from Galette asked his guests. Ms. Violet, her majesty's personal attendant, looked on speculatively.

"I'm not sure either. I'd say it was almost as if she were terrified at first when she met our forces… Now however?" She just shook her head and shrugged. All the while, General Bernard still remained silent. His expression was unreadable.

"Hmmm, so we're agreed on the initial response, but what is this? Whatever she's doing, I'm not even really seeing an attack. Can we get a slow motion replay for this?" Charley called out. Bernard still wasn't responding or moving. It was as if he were a statue. In short order, all the displays not just in the room but the battle displays themselves cut the live feeds and began replaying the insane heroine's actions in slow motion. Her posture was a perfect mimicry of a cat's as she came bounding forth on all fours. The look on her face seemed unnatural. Her eyes were devoid of any humanity. Bernard jerked a little at this. The fact was he had been angered until now and was trying his best to regain composure before talking. He had thought the strange girl had been mocking them for some unknown reason. Now he knew better. She had truly gone mad. With this in mind, his anger fled him as he focused on the question at hand. What kind of attack was she using?

The feral hero continued to bound forth, and as she passed various soldiers, her hands would blur into action to make a passing swipe. However just as before, she never made contact, but they did see the armor shred and tear with the motion.

"Umm, I think I'm missing something here. Those swipes still aren't connecting," Charley commented.

"No, I think there's something there, but I'm not sure," Violet added with a lost look.

"Prince Gaul… She's using an invisible variation of the Prince's Lion King Paws," Bernard finally spoke up," Look at her feet, she's leaving claw marks behind on the ground."

In response to this statement, the staff refocused on the girl's feet. She was leaving claw like rents in the ground.

"Wow, that's kind of scary. I wonder how the prince is going to take this when he finds out," Charley responded after confirming it himself.

* * *

Lorrain found himself staring at the display as did many others who weren't currently fleeing Biscotti's hero. He still couldn't understand what was going on with the girl. The look in her eyes all but confirmed something was wrong. He sighed as he hefted his weapon. There was still a battle to be fought. Hopefully they can clean up this mess afterwards. Soon enough, more enemy soldiers came. _Not that many however. I guess these were the ones that played it smart and kept their distance_.

* * *

Millhi was shocked at just about how bad things were going. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. There was something clearly wrong with Ranma. Besides what was currently going on, her thoughts were focused on the look of unfathomable terror on her face as she fled. Then she remembered earlier when they took flight. Ranma had not been afraid of heights. She was afraid of what she saw. She needed to do something.

"My Princess, what troubles you?" Rizel asked with concern clear on her face.

"It's Ranma…"

"Yes, I must admit her actions are crossing the line," Rizel began only to be cut short.

"No, that's just it. I don't think that's Ranma!" Millhi blurted out," She's odd, I'll admit, but it was clear she is afraid of something about the Galette forces."

"What? She doesn't look afraid to me-" Rizel began until she remembered Ranma's initial response as well.

All the while, Ricotta Elmar, the thirteen year old chief researcher of Biscotti, stood near her dear friend and listened to her worries. She thought about it. The girl clearly had not shown signs of cowardice until she met the enemy. It wasn't conflict the girl had feared. Then it had to be something else entirely as she would have shown signs prior to meeting them. _Wait, she had shown a prior reaction when she saw the enemy from the air_.

"Princess! Did Ranma know she was going to be fighting before she saw the battlefield?" She questioned immediately with anxiety clear in her body language.

"Of course I did. She had a bit of a misunderstanding, but was ok with it once she was told there would be know death involved," Millhi answered as she turned to look at her friend curiously.

"She's afraid of dying?" Rizel asked perplexed," That shouldn't be an issue here though."

The princess quickly shook her head," No, when she got here she thought she had already died and seemed fine… er- well, for the most part. There was some annoyance over something I couldn't quite get. No, she vehemently refused to kill others."

Rizel sighed at this," I must say that she gave me that kind of impression before this," she added with a gesture at the display.

Rico considered this. So clearly it wasn't a fear of fighting. Then it came down to the soldiers she was fleeing. She showed no issue until she saw them. She seemed fine with everyone else however. There was only one difference between those soldiers and most people from Biscotti.

"I'm not sure, but I think she might be afraid of cats," Rico theorized," Though I can't be sure as psychology isn't really one of my fields. Still doesn't really explain her current actions. Maybe she snapped?"

* * *

Éclair Martinozzi, the young captain of the imperial guard, had been angrily holding her position. She never cared for the idea of calling on a hero in the first place and had her opposition back when her dear Princess had announced her intentions. It felt like an insult to the knights as if to say they weren't fit to carry out their duty. The idea that they had failed so badly in the wars against Galette that the princess believed she had to call on the help of some stranger did not sit well with her. She wasn't angry with the Princess. No, she was angry with herself and at whoever the hero would be as that hero would represent the knights' failures… Her failures. It was only made worst when the hero took the field and mage her anger justified. The girl's action were further demoralizing as she fled them. Now she's actively mocking them as she decimates them. This form of mockery was even less heroic as it almost bordered maliciousness the way she went on.

As she continued using her seal cannons and skill to hold off the enemy soldiers, she heard the sounds of a cat hissing and yowling from behind. She then saw the closing soldiers actually turn and flee. She turned about to find the source of all her anger now sitting before her staring at her intently. She tilted her head to the side curiously. Her eyes seemed wrong somehow. The girl then stood on all fours once more and slowly approached the knight while sniffing the air. _What is she doing!? Is she mocking me too!?_

At this thought, Éclair clenched her twin blades angrily. She was about to verbally bite the so called hero's head off when said girl made her move. She wasn't even able to guard before the girl's pounce brought her tumbling back with the red head now on top of her. She froze in shock as the girl stared her in the eyes for a moment before it happened. All at once her armor and more shredded as the girl licked her cheek.

* * *

Silence once again fell on the commentator's box as Charley tried to get his senses back. Violet just looked down and shook her head at what she had seen. Bernard then broke it with a chuckle.

"Uh, what is going on," Charley demanded as he turned to the General.

"She didn't fully retract her claws; she's in a playful mood and his chosen the droopy eared knight of Biscotti as her playmate," Bernard explained before letting loose another chuckle at the scene as said knight had found a towel that she was holding wrapped about her while brandishing one of her blades in what could only be rage as she pursued her own hero.

"You're talking like she's actually a cat," Charley commented.

"She is one at the moment, isn't she," Ms. Violet asked her fellow guest.

"I think so, whatever is wrong with her, she's not just acting like one, I'd say she is one," Bernard answered as he nodded his head and crossed his arms. Her actions had been quite familiar to him as it would to most Galeteans.

* * *

Éclair could only see red. She didn't care what it took. She was going to make the hero pay. It was while she was in this rage that the catty girl stopped and her hands blurred into motion. The next thing she knew, she was blind by some dust and hacking some up. It was then that a familiar voice called out from a ways away.

"Well well, so this is the hero who's been causing so much trouble for my people today!" called out the unmistakable voice of the current ruler of Galette. Éclair finally cleared her eyes to see Leonmitchelli sitting upon her cercle and holding a long bow," I must say I'm not disappointed!"

All the while, Ranma had stayed put and stared at the woman. The next thing anyone knew she began bounding forth on all fours once more. The ruler of Galette notched an arrow and fired. Right when the arrow would have hit dead on, it turned to dust. This didn't even seem to phase the Biscotti hero as she charged forth with amazing speed and agility. Éclair simply dropped to the ground in shock of the display that was to come.

* * *

She had been keeping herself informed and watching the commentary as she closed in on her target. She had not been happy at first when she found out of the hero's behavior. In fact, she was planning to give a lesson in humility until Bernard spoke up. The very idea this girl was a cat in mind was improbable, but she had to agree with her general's conclusion on seeing the girl herself playing with the poor knight. She had decided to put an end to the scene with a warning shot. A shot that was reduced to nothing in an instant. Even as the girl charged at her now, she sought to slow her down with another arrow. However she found it was useless. Seeing this, she willed the bow in her hand to take the form of an axe.

She tried to fend off the charge with her Axe, Granveil, only to find she could barely keep her balance on her mount as the girl cheerfully mewled and spring-boarded off her weapon to land a short distance away. The girl seemed to be wait for something as she stared happily at Leo. The woman knew it was unlikely she could change avenues for this battle as she had originally intended. As such she took this opportunity to dismount Daumas. The whole time the girl simply waited and stared at her. She did not care for that look one bit. It wasn't that it angered her or annoyed her. No, it was the fact that there was something there that bothered her on an instinctual level. As they stared down each, Leonmitchelli found herself wondering what it was that disturbed her.

Then as if a switch had been flipped, she went all in as if something was driving her to do so. She started off with the "Lion King Round Seal". The hero simply dodged everything from the erupting columns of flame to the falling meteors of her seal. The redhead simply picked its way through as she approached. All the while that look in her eye disturbed Leo.

"Tremendous Explosion!" She cried as she unleashed a massive explosion. However in her haste, she had forgotten where she was. She had only been focused on that girl and her eyes. As such, she had forgotten they were near a cliff. The ground gave out far more quickly than she was expecting.

* * *

Éclair watched as the hero made easy work of the seal. Then she heard Leonmitchelli's second cry. Her wits came back to her as she desperately scrambled to get as much distance as possible from ground zero of that seal. In the end, she still found herself too close and tried to use her own attack with her only sword on hand. Soon she found herself sprawled out on the ground. The towel from before was completely destroyed. It was then that she felt something new covering her. She opened her eyes to find her brother's relieved smile as he set a change of clothes next to her.

"Éclair!" called two voices in unison. Éclair sat up while holding the new towel in place as she turned to find Millhi and Rico rushing toward her. Rico tackled her to the ground with a hug. The princess watched from nearby with a relieved smile. She was also wearing her full armor.

"My princess, what is going on and why are you out here?" Éclair asked as she rubbed Rico's back reassuringly.

"They came to try and retrieve our wayward hero," Lorrain, her brother, answered instead.

"She's not in her right mind… I made a terrible mistake," Millhi added. At this, Rico let Éclair go and turned the princess.

"No you didn't, this is Ranma's fault for not being honest to you!" Rico declared adamantly.

"… So this hero not only makes a mockery of me but lied to you!?" Éclair screamed angrily. Millhi looked to her in worry.

"Well, she did lie, but she never meant for any of this to happen, at least I hope not. We believe she might have lost herself in fear," Millhi answered nervously as she scratched her cheek and ended with an equally nervous chuckle. Éclair looked a bit confused at this.

"At any rate, we need to get going if we're to head off any further trouble, you can catch up sister," her brother cut in as he got the others back on track with the task on hand. Éclair quickly went about getting dressed and ran after them.

* * *

Millhi was not sure what to expect when she found Ranma again, but she was fairly sure it wasn't this. There she was sitting comfortably in her old friend's lap sleeping very much like a cat. Leo seemed stunned and unaware of her surroundings. She just sat there staring straight forward. Millhi found herself curious at this scene as she and the others approached carefully.

Suddenly Ranma seemed to stir as he opened his eyes and looked about confused. She seemed to be back to normal somehow. Then her face paled as she slowly looked up and began screaming as she ran away and took shelter behind Millhi.

"C-c-c-cat! Keep it away!" Ranma finaly spoke from behind her. Millhi turned around and tried to console her strange hero as she brought out a blindfold Rizel had suggested to bring and secured it on Ranma.

"There, now you shouldn't see them anymore," Millhi said as she tried to soothe the girl with a hug.

Meanwhile, Leo seemed to finally recollect herself after the screaming and was now staring at the hero and Millhi. She stared for several long seconds before giving a sigh of relief. She quickly regained her usual demeanor and called out," So, this is the hero you chose?"

"Not quite, I had sought another, but she was who I got- er," Millhi started before quickly backing away from Ranma and flailing her hands about," Not that that's a bad thing. You seem like an interesting person, but I really wish you had spoken to us about your uh, condition."

"Condition?" Leo demanded upon hearing the word. At this Ranma sighed as if deciding something and faced Leo fairly accurately considering she couldn't see at the moment.

"She means I'm… afraid of c-ca-… Felines," She answered before releasing another sigh," If it gets too bad, I either blackout or become what you saw earlier."

"I see…" Leo said thoughtfully before quickly turning about and collecting her axe she had dropped earlier," Well if you'll excuse me. I must be going-" She started before pausing as grin took her face," It's too bad about your condition, I hear I'm quite the sight," she called back with a mischievous grin. She shamelessly left the scene carrying her axe in nothing but her underwear.

"Well, now that it seems like things are sorted out… You can enjoy some of the celebration before we send you home?" Millhi spoke cheerfully with a clap of her hands.

"What?" Rico spoke up," A hero cannot return once summoned," Millhi began to visibly seat at this statement," That is why hero summoning occurs only rarely," Rico continued before pausing," Wait, you didn't know this, Princess!?"

Ranma went stock still at this statement. Millhi quickly sought to regain her composure with a cheerful façade and turned away from Rico and clapped her hands together almost as if in prayer," Well, even still, there must be some way."

"There aren't any!" Rico screamed in aggravation at her princess's oversight to which she gained a nervous laugh from said princess in response. That was when everyone felt the air turn cold.

"So I am stuck here in a world where at any moment I can be reduced to THAT again," spoke the eerily calm Ranma," And not only didya do so without asking me, but ya did it without even making sure there wasn't a catch."

"It was all an accident. I assure you our princess would never mean anyone any harm," Lorrain answered. His words seemed to cause the air to grow even colder.

"An accident that still took me away from my home and loved ones against my will," came the calm voice devoid of all emotion. Millhi looked at the still blindfolded Ranma as she seemed to be able to quite accurately face each person she spoke to. She also realized that somehow the hero was producing the cold air.

"Wait, you were the one that stepped into the summoning circle, so what's this about you not having a choice?!" Éclair demanded angrily as she now stood at Millhi's side.

"What are you talking about? I never saw such a thing. One moment I'm falling from pretty high up on a collision course with some blonde haired kid and the next thing I know I'm even higher in a now purple sky," Ranma stated while "looking" straight at Éclair. This statement shocked Millhi. This girl had accidently taken her chosen one's place. It also sounded like the girl was likely to die if she had fallen from that high up. She resolved to try and act responsibly on the matter. The first course of action was to try and help her new hero. She embraced the cold and emotionless girl before her and ran her hand through her hair to pet her. The girl seemed to tense up at the contact, but it had completely shattered her emotionless mask and the warmth returned.

"I am sorry for my thoughtlessness," Millhi began," We'll do whatever it takes to help you."

"Yes, even if there is no way, I'll search for one for you," Rico added.

"I guess…" Ranma finally spoke up with a sad tone before suddenly jumping away from the Princess," But none of this touchy feely stuff, ya got that? All it ever does is cause me trouble!"

* * *

Charley looked to Ms. Violet who had turned off the mic with a smile when the Biscotti group with both the hero and Princess began talking. They hadn't been able to see much when her Excellency's explosion went off. It also took some time for the all the dust to settle from it. When things had finally cleared up, they found the same strange scene as everyone else had. However, Charley had to wonder about Ms. Violet's actions in stopping them from intruding on whatever was going on. Apparently it must have been an important or very personal matter.

"Why are we cutting the coverage on this?" He found himself asking anyways.

"Let's just call it woman's intuition for now and agree not to intrude on whatever is going on. After all, you missing a lot of the action right now and the fact that Biscotti has now taken the lead for the day with her Excellency's defeat," She answered thoughtfully. Charley relented on the matter and soon continued their coverage of the rest of the battlefield.

* * *

The battle was over now. It had been close in the end since their hero left the field, but Ranma had done quite a bit already. Biscotti had won. Now Lorrain found himself being put on the spot by reporters seeking an interview with the strange hero.

"I am sorry, but she has already left the battlefield," He tried to ward them off.

"Well then, any statements on what happened?" One reporter called out. Anumber of others did much the same. The Biscotti General found himself sighing.

"The circumstances surrounding her are complicated and even now not fully known," He began. He had been given permission to reveal the following," As we understand it, the hero Ranma wasn't even the target of the summons so nothing was known of her at the time. However, we are thankful at this time as we believe her life was at risk. As for earlier today, I am not at liberty to say much. Even then I admittedly know next to nothing other than what the commentators said may have been true."

The response wasn't entirely happy, but they did seem a bit understanding on the matter. Biscotti was going to be in for some hard times as they dealt with another issue.

* * *

Ranma and Éclair walked around the market place in the capital city. She had been given a reward for her part in the battle. Ranma happily accepted the money. Éclair seemed to not like being around her and it was starting to get to her.

"So, why ya following me anyways. You obviously hate me for some reason," Ranma asked as she looked at the coins in the pouch and tried to discern the different types to fish out. She couldn't read the values, but she could get some help on that. Meanwhile Éclair scowled at the question.

"It's my duty for the time being to watch over you, and unlike someone I take such things seriously!" the knight girl spat out.

"Dunno what you're talking about. I do take my duty seriously," Ranma replied with a shrug as she fished out the last of the different types of coins in the pouch and pocketed them.

"You're a hero and it's your job to inspire our people and bring them hope! Instead you hide important information and while bringing us a victory have only managed to make things more problematic!" Éclair snapped back.

"One, I'm a martial artist. I never asked to be a hero. And two as a martial artist, my overwriting duty is to protect the weak," Ranma answered with a slight bit of annoyance," I have had few things in life and my honor is the most important of them."

"And what is honorable about hiding your fear from us and causing so much trouble," the green haired dog girl demanded.

"Look, I hate that weakness of mine. Heck, I hate talking about it since all I ever seem to get for it is humiliation. Seriously, you tell me you would tell people if that's what was waiting for you," Ranma shot back.

"The Princess is not like that! She would never laugh at something like that!" Éclair yelled back, drawing attention from some of crowd. She tried to grab Ranma and lead her away only to be found in Ranma's arms and up in the air and soon on a roof top. She began screaming in outrage as Ranma roof hopped and dropped down into an alley away from the crowd," How dare you! That wasn't necessary!"

"Well gee, I'm sorry, but I could have sworn I'd been told to keep a low profile for now. Also, I'll admit that your princess is the first…" Ranma sniped back before admitting the second in a more thoughtful tone. Éclair growled at the obvious jab. She seemed ready to start a fight until she noticed the look on Ranma's face.

"Are you telling me you have shared this before," She asked in a guarded tone," Surely your own family wouldn't laugh or did you never tell them?"

Ranma snorted at this," Yeah right, My father is the one that caused it and my mother would likely have me and him dead if she found out."

Éclair just stared at her before asking," What's that supposed to mean?"

"Simple, my dad is an idiot who got his hands on a training manual and didn't read the whole thing before-," She cut off and began to tremble. She shook it off," Best not to talk about it… I don't like remembering. As for my mother… It's complicated. Short of it though, she has a contract that should I fail to uphold, my life is forfeit."

Éclair stood silently. _What kind of barbaric_ _nonsense_ _is this!? A father who traumatizes his own daughter and a mother who would actually take their chil_ _d'_ _s life!?_ She wasn't sure if she could even believe what she had heard. She would have to report this. Maybe the princess could find out.

"Anyways since we got a moment, ya mind explaining the value of each of these?" Ranma broke her out of her thoughts as she showed her the coins she had pocketed earlier.

* * *

After that, Ranma was able to get the basic run down of what she needed to know about this world. Things like how the war games worked, monster and such on the road and how the locals seemed to be protected by the weird energy the seemed to saturate the place. The knight tried to get her to meet with the research people, but Ranma declined and instead asked for a place to train. Sow now here they were back at the castle at the training yard. Ranma began going through katas.

Meanwhile Éclair watched this strange dance and seemed confused with the practice. She had to admit that whatever the hero was doing seemed to hold a strange grace to it, but she couldn't quite understand it. She wasn't the only one taken in by the strange dance either. A number of the other knights that had showed up for some extra training had stopped to watch it as well.

Ranma soon wound down and came to a stop. Upon completion, she found herself broken out of her centered state by loud applause. She smirked at them.

Éclair walked up to here with a fixed gaze," So, what was all that about, I thought you wanted to train in combat?"

"That was, their called katas. What, you guys don't practice martial arts around here?" Ranma shot back with a curious grin. She was starting to like this back and forth with the girl. Not that she liked her. She seemed to be holding something against her, but that was not Ranma's problem.

"No, we do practice the art of combat," Éclair snapped back," I still don't see what that dancing has to do with it. I mean, sure it could be used for balance and athletics, but there are better ways, like actually working with the weapon."

Ranma made a derisive snort," What we're talking about ain't the same. My body is my weapon and a dependence on anything else is a liability."

"Really? I let's this then. No seals," Éclair demanded as she went and got her twin blades for the duel. Ranma just smirked all the while.

* * *

Later a very sore Éclair stood before her Princess as she was on a break in her schedule for the concert to be held that night. She still was not pleased with how easily Ranma had taken her out. Seriously once Ranma got in close; it was all over almost instant.

"So how is Ranma doing?" Millhi asked as she sat down and to a drink of water.

"She's doing fine. Rico came by to see why we hadn't dropped by yet. They were on their way to the kitchen last I saw," Éclair began," However, I have a few things about her I feel needs to be brought up. I'm not sure if what was said is true, but I feel if anyone can find out. It might be you, Princess."

* * *

Elsewhere in the kitchen, Rico marveled as she watched Ranma make short work of the "snack" the kitchen had given her. She was astonished by the girl's lack of manners and the sheer speed of her movements. She didn't know what to think about the strange girl. When she conferred with her colleagues about Ranma's symptoms, they had suggested that Ranma had suffered a traumatic experience. Since Ranma was already going to be here a while, she had decided to assign some of her people on looking into something to help the poor girl. It would slow the research down a little, but that was now a mute point since Ranma had just confirmed that there was no real deadline so long as it wasn't too long. She seemed a little melancholic at something but had brightened up when the food arrived. Now that they were done eating, she might as well broach the topic of helping her with her condition.


End file.
